Many products have been developed for the purpose of moisturizing the skin, protecting it from sunburn and providing a base into which coloring or other agents may be added for cosmetic purposes. The composition of such products commonly contains agents chosen to achieve well-defined purposes. For example, ingredients such as PABA (paraaminobenzoic acid) for sun protection, glycerin for moisturization, anti-oxidants such as alpha-tocopherol and preservatives such as methylparaben, are all well-known constituents of such preparations. The exact identities and proportions of such ingredients, however, vary because some of them may alter the effects of some others, so that it may be difficult to achieve a substantial improvement in quality of a preparation by the mere alteration or addition of a constituent.
Examples of recent prior art directed to some of these problems are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,216,201 to Calvo; 4,454,159 to Musher, 4,505,902 to Millard and 4,595,586 to Flom.
The present invention is the result of a series of experiments designed to achieve a formulation which utilizes the benefits of shark oil (shark liver oil), a complex mixture of organic oils which has been the subject of much research in recent years. Shark oil is especially noted for its high content of squalene, a highly unsaturated terpenic hydrocarbon which is a biochemical precursor of cholesterol. Squalene, in fact, is a constituent of normal skin sebum and has been used in artificial oil and sebum preparations for testing of therapeutic products (e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,451,453 to Lay et al; 4,515,784 to Bogardus et al; and 4,536,399 to Flynn et al). Squalene or fish liver oil is also a constituent in the four earlier mentioned patents, and in various therapeutic preparations (e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,930,000 to Margraf; 4,021,572 to VanScott et al; and 4,124,720 to Wenmaekers).
The inventor herein has discovered a composition and method of formulation which permit manufacture without the use of heat to emulsify shark oil. Proportions of other ingredients have been determined also. The result is a preparation with notably superior emollient and moisturizing properties which serve both to soothe and protect the skin. Moreover, the stability of compositions made according to the present invention has proven to be more than adequate for its intended use.